Return to Newsletter Archive

AUTHOR:
TerrorismCentral Editorial Staff

TITLE:
TerrorismCentral Newsletter - April 2, 2006

SOURCE:
TerrorismCentral, April 2, 2006

TEXT:

Hot off the press: "Best Health Buys" is a set of three books that outline the current and future state of global health, with recommendations for the most crucial, proven, and cost effective measures to pursue. Recommended reading focuses on recent histories regarding Ukraine's Orange Revolution, while news in the Political Risk Monitor provides information on the status of the country's elections last week. Don't miss other highlights in international events, ranging from freed hostages in Nigeria and Iraq, to a series of disastrous earthquakes in Iran.


CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. Global Terrorism Monitor
2. Political Risk Monitor
3. AML/CFT Monitor
4. Emerging Threat Monitor
5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor
6. Disaster Reduction Monitor
7. Recommended Reading
8. Asset Management Network News


1. Global Terrorism Monitor

The Global Terrorism Monitor is a monthly 16-page print publication. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For subscription information, emailinfo@tamni.com.

--------------------------------------------------
GTM Africa
--------------------------------------------------
Chad launched border operations against Rally for Democracy (RCD) rebels and Sudan-government-backed militias earlier this month, soon after the defeat of an alleged coup attempt. This week, General Abakar Itno, a senior commander and nephew of President Deby, died of injuries received during a rebel raid.

Five bombings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killed one and injured 14 people. The explosions in the back of a minibus, a cafe, a guard post, an abattoir and a private home have been blamed on the government opposition and separatists, backed by Eritrea, but there have been no claims of responsibility.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has released three kidnapped oil workers unharmed. The two US and one UK citizens had been kidnapped in a group of nine on 18 February. The other six were freed after a week. The government says that no ransom was paid. MEND says they will no longer take hostages, but instead will concentrate on attacking oil installations.

Conflict in Sudan's Darfur region continues unabated. The International Organization for Migration reports that sustained violence has forced more than 50,000 people from their homes since the beginning of this year, joining more than 1.5 million already homeless. There are new reports of Sudanese refugees in Chad, forcibly conscripted and sent to training bases in Darfur. Most of the forced recruits were young men aged 15 to 35, but some were even younger.

In southern Sudan, Bahjat Abdulla, a UN refugee agency officer from Baghdad, was critically wounded on 15 March when two gunmen attacked a refugee compound in Yei. He died of his injuries last week. At the time of the attack a local guard was killed, and a second injured, who is now recovering.
--------------------------------------------------
GTM Americas
--------------------------------------------------
Colombia hosted a 3-day meeting of the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE).Among the topics covered were the links between organized criminal enterprises and terrorism in Latin America.
http://www.cicte.oas.org/

The US National Intelligence Director has started posting documents captured in Iraq online at the Foreign Military Studies Office. They have been briefly reviewed by linguists but not fully translated from Arabic. The documents may not be authentic, and do not change what is known about the prewar situation in Iraq, but were made available when congressional Republicans insisted they be made available for public review.

The US Supreme Court has begun to hear a constitutional challenge to presidential authority to hold "enemy combatants" and try them in military tribunals established and responsive only to the executive. The case that raises these questions comes from Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who is challenging his indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay.

Asking whether Supreme Court Justice Scalia should recuse himself from Guantanamo cases, Newsweek reports that he gave his opinion at a meeting in Switzerland, that the detainees have no rights.
Newsweek article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12017271
Analysis and speech clips
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5304714

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) broad definition of terrorism is addressed in an article by Los Angeles Times writer Nicholas Riccardi, in "FBI Keeps Watch on Activists: Antiwar, other groups are monitored to curb violence, not because of ideology, agency says".
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-na-fbi27mar27,0,5815737.story

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali has been sentenced to 30 years in prison on nine counts, including plotting to kill the president, and conspiracy. He confessed to these charges under alleged torture during his detention in Saudi Arabia, but the confession was allowed in the US court. He was not given a life sentence because no weapons were found and his actions hurt no one.
http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/abuali/index.html
http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/wfo032906.htm
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/cassel/20050307.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1742762,00.html

Former Assistant US Attorney Richard G. Convertino and Department of State Regional Security Officer Harry Raymond Smith III, were indicted on charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false declarations in the 2003 Koubriti terrorism trial , in which four defendants were charged with providing material support for terrorism and document fraud.
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/March/06_crm_183.html

Zacarias Moussaoui's death penalty trial has gone to the jury, which will decide whether the death penalty is an admissible, setting the stage for a final penalty trial. Moussaoui had been arrested as the "20th hijacker", but further investigation showed no connection, and this case went forward based only on his failure to disclose information about al Qaeda. During the final stages of this trial, Moussaoui testified that he had been one of another team meant to hijack a third plane and target the White House, claims that contradicted both his own previous assertions and independent evidence.  

The US House Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on National Security, held hearings on "Setting Post-9/11 Investigative Priorities at the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement". Witnesses reviewed the findings of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, "Better Management Practices Could Enhance DHS's Ability to Allocate Investigative Resources". Among the topics discussed were the continued lack of interagency cooperation and the dominance of border control resources that go to drugs, financial crimes and illegal immigration, compared to the small amount used for counterterrorism.
http://reform.house.gov/NSETIR/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=41494

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs  Committee held hearings on "Neutralizing the Nuclear and Radiological Threat: Securing the Global Supply Chain". Testimony reiterated that there was no plan for homeland security in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland and the Capital Region Homeland Security Strategic Plan has not been completed. Even the basic measure of establishing compatible radio communications for the area has not been taken.
http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=335
http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=336
--------------------------------------------------
GTM Asia Pacific
--------------------------------------------------
Joseph Terrence Thomas ("Jihad Jack") was sentenced to five years in prison for receiving money from al Qaeda. If he had been found guilty of being a sleeper agency he could have faced a 25-year sentence. He is the first Australian convicted under the country's new counterterrorism laws.

Indonesia's peace process with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is the topic of a new report from the International Crisis Group. "Aceh: Now for the Hard Part" looks at:
"Converging problems call for renewed leadership from Jakarta and for international donor vigilance to prevent any backsliding on the August 2005 peace deal between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM). Confidence in peace remains high, but a series of differences have arisen between the central government and the Acehnese. These include disagreement over the concept of self-government reflected in disputes over the draft law on Aceh's governance; efforts to divide the province; questions over who can run in local elections and when those elections take place; and the urgent employment needs of returning GAM members. Finally, since local elections seem to be delayed until late July or August, the European Union-led Aceh Monitoring Mission should postpone its scheduled June departure to ease fears of pre-election violence."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4049

In Japan, Aum Shrinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara's attorneys missed a deadline to appeal his death sentence. They said the deadline was missed because he was mentally incapacitated and unable to communicate clearly. A court psychiatric review ruled instead that he was competent to stand trial. The Tokyo High Court has rejected the appeal, which will now be heard by an alternate panel of judges. The1995 sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway killed 12 and injured more then 5,000.

In the southern Philippines, a bomb at a multi-purpose shop in Jolo killed nine and injured 20. One person detained for questioning was released, and the attack now appears to have been tied to extortion, possibly involving Abu Sayyaf. Investigators subsequently reported that the original target was Jolo Cathedral.
--------------------------------------------------
GTM Europe
--------------------------------------------------
Rachid Ramda was sentenced in French court to ten years in prison for criminal association with a terrorist organisation, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), and providing logistical support in connection with the 1995 Paris Metro bombings in which eight people were killed. The Algerian may also be tried for murder.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and conservative opposition leader Mariano Rajoy held talks about proceeding with a peace plan for the Basque region, following separatist group ETA's declaration of a permanent ceasefire. The talks failed to bridge mutual distrust and Rajoy's opposition to negotiations with a terrorist group, refusal to consider any concessions, and continued legal actions against ETA.

Three days of violent protests in Istanbul, Turkey, culminated in a bombing near a bus stop that killed one and injured more than five. Responsibility is unclear, but the street violence had been triggered in the southeast Kurdish areas following the burial of 14 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members killed by Turkish security forces. In the demonstrations that followed, three Kurds were killed and over 200 injured. These are the worst riots in several years.

The UK Parliament's intelligence and security committee (ISC) inquiry into the 7/7 bombings will not be released until late April, but indications are that they have concluded that there was a failure of intelligence, but this was due to lack of resources rather than errors in judgment.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4861528.stm
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/intelligence/

The British government wants to deport 17 Algerians on grounds of national security, but they have remained in detention pending completion of a memorandum of understanding between the two governments. Now four of the detainees have withdrawn their appeals, including one citing mental torture arising from the strict control order that was imposed.
--------------------------------------------------
GTM Middle East
--------------------------------------------------
In Gaza City, fighting broke out among Palestinian factions attending the funeral of Abu Yousef Abu ("Khalil") al-Quqa, a senior commander of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), who had been killed by an explosion. Israel denied involvement in the incident, and blame turned to the Fatah-dominated Preventive Security Service, which was accused of collaborating with Israel. During the fighting, a PRC member and two bystanders were killed, and several others were injured.

Palestinians in Gaza for the first time fired a Katyusha-style rocket at Israel. An exploded rocket, that may have fallen during that assault or earlier, killed an Arab Israeli father and his teenage son. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, and says they own many more.

The US raid on a mosque complex in Baghdad that killed at least 16 people has further inflamed sectarian tensions in Iraq:
* On Monday, a suicide bomb inside the police recruitment center at a joint Iraqi-US military base killed at least 40 Iraqis and injured 30 near Mosul. 16 employees of Iraqi import/export firm Saeed were kidnapped in Baghdad. 16 members of the Saeed trading company were kidnapped.
* In Baghdad on Tuesday, Iraqi police found 14 bodies, apparently executed. Also, three Daewoo Electric Appliances shop employees and six people working at the Moussa Bin Nasser Exchange were kidnapped. An attack at another branch of the same company led to the abduction of 15 employees. In each of these kidnappings, equipment, cash, and papers were stolen. In Nasiriya, three civilians were killed in an explosion that took place outside the home of US-funded Radio Sawa correspondent Mohammed Nur, who was unhurt. In Haswa, police opened fire on an explosives-laden vehicle. They prevented it hitting a police station, but in the explosion, the two insurgents were killed and 11 police and a bystander were injured.
* On Wednesday, gunmen, some dressed in police uniforms and identifying themselves as Interior Ministry employees, stormed the al-Ibtikar Trade Contracting company in Baghdad. They lined up and shot 14 employees: eight died and six were injured.
* Thursday, gunmen ambushed an oil worker' minibus, killing eight as they left a Baiji refinery. In Basra, a female lawyer was shot and killed. One person was killed and 11 injured in roadside bombings in Baghdad. Two were killed and seven injured in a car bomb, and five injured in a suicide bomb. In Ramadi, three hospital workers were found executed, with a note accusing them of homosexuality.
* Saturday, a group calling itself the al-Rashideen Army claimed responsibility for shooting down a US military helicopter, killing both pilots.

Jill Carroll, a US reporter, was freed on 30 March after being held hostage for more than two months, just a week after three other Westerners were free. No explanation for the release was given, and she has now returned to the US.

Iraq's Displacement and Migration Ministry and the International Organization for Migration report that more than 30,000 Iraqis have been displaced, many by armed efforts by one sectarian group to clear the area of another, since the 22 February bombing of a Shiite shrine. The problem of displacement is growing across the country, as are temporary camps springing up to help the refugees.

In the first such incident this year, a Palestinian suicide bomber disguised as an orthodox Jew killed himself and four Israelis inside a vehicle traveling near the Jewish settlement of Kedumim in the West Bank. The Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade and a new Fatah faction called Kateb al-Shahid Chamuda both claimed responsibility. Israel, blaming the Hamas-led Palestinian government for the attack, retaliated with air strikes in Gaza and has tightened security around the Palestinian territories. This incident came after the Shin Bet security service reported details of two abortive Islamic Jihad suicide attempts, and was apparently a revenge attack in response to recent Fatah killings.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Ahmed Saadat refused to recognize the authority of the Israeli military tribunal that plans to try him on charges that include ordering the assassination of a cabinet minister in 2001. He and four alleged accomplices had surrendered following the Israeli siege of their prison in Jericho. Refusing to participate in the hearing, he was not granted bail.

A Lebanese military court had sentenced local Fatah leader Sultan Abu al-Aynain to death in absentia in 1999. His death sentence for forming an armed gang and illegally possessing weapons was dropped after a brief retrial.

Charges against six Lebanese and one Syrian accused in membership of al Qaeda, planning to wage war in Iraq, were dropped after the Lebanese military prosecutor found insufficient evidence.

Saudi Arabia reports the arrest of 40 suspected al Qaeda members in several areas around the country.

Four Yemeni tribesmen from the al-Zaidi clan were sentenced to 20 years in prison for kidnapping five Italian tourists in January. Two men from the al-Amiri clan were sentenced to five and ten years for abetting them. The kidnapping was meant to apply pressure for the release of jailed relatives, and follows changes in the penal code to discourage such kidnappings.
--------------------------------------------------
GTM South Asia
--------------------------------------------------
In Afghanistan's southwest province of Farah, a landmine claimed the lives of a Namibian man, his Afghan driver and two Afghan guards that worked for a US security company. Six Afghan soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb. In a third incident on Tuesday, two suspected suicide bombers died in an explosion in Kandahar. Clashes in Helmand on Wednesday left 32 Taleban, and one US and one Canadian soldier dead. A suspected suicide bombing in Kandahar on Thursday killed the attacker when his device exploded prematurely, injuring six civilians. An attack in Laghman province killed two officials and two bodyguards, while Taleban killed a policeman and his brother in Helmand. On Saturday, unknown gunmen killed Sayed Sadiq, speaker of Takhar province's provincial assembly. Sadiq, a strong ally of Karzai and opponent of the drugs trade, is the first lawmaker killed since Afghanistan's parliament was inaugurated.

India's Maoist rebels apologized for a landmine attack in Chattisgarh of last Friday that killed 14 civilians when their vehicle was mistaken for a police jeep. The rebels blamed intelligence failures and ordered its fighters to be more vigilant. This is their second apology this month for accidentally killing civilians.

In Gujarat Mustaq Ahmed Sheikh was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined for his main role in killing a Hindu man during 2002 religious riots. Eight others involved in the incident were jailed for 1.5 years. 25 people in this case were released for insufficient evidence.

Nepal's Maoist rebels attacked soldiers carrying high school examination question papers in the southern Sarlahi district. One soldier and one Maoist rebel were killed and two policemen were injured, one critically. Note this Human Rights Watch report expressing concern over the increased cost of civilian lives following the end of the Maoist's unilateral ceasefire.
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/28/nepal13083.htm

In Pakistan's Balochistan province, hours after the local assembly voted to engage in peace talks, tribal militants are believed to have carried out explosions that blew up four electricity transmission towers. A technician was killed and a second seriously injured by a landmine when their team arrived to repair the damage, which cut power to a wide area. Tribal militants are also suspected in an explosion at a government dairy farm that killed two and injured ten.

In North Waziristan, tribal militants attacked a paramilitary police checkpoint on Wednesday night.  A woman and her son were killed in the heavily armed assault, and several other civilians were injured. In another attack, suspected Taleban launched a rocket assault on a military base, killing one soldier and injuring three.

In the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) capital city of Peshawar, the US shut its consulate following credible warnings of an attack, and the city went on high alert. Soon after, a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded in a market, killing one policeman and injuring at least 16 others. High security may have forced repositioning the attack. Two days of factional violence, between supporters of rival clerics in the Khyber agency of NWFP, killed at least 25 people and injured 30 or more. Days later, Pakistani troops shelled a radio station operated by a Muslim cleric, putting the transmitter out of action and injuring five people.

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman Khalil, chief of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, was kidnapped, beaten, and dumped by unidentified gunmen in front of a mosque near Islamabad. He is in critical condition.

Sri Lanka's navy and Tamil Tiger rebels exchanged fire off the eastern coast of Trincomalee, each accusing the other of aggression in an incident that resulted in no casualties. A fishing ban was reimposed after Tiger gun-runners allegedly blew up a naval vessel 25 March.


2. Political Risk Monitor

The Political Risk Monitor is a monthly 16-page print publication. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For subscription information, email info@tamni.com.

--------------------------------------------------
PRM Africa
--------------------------------------------------
Gambian authorities have arrested 27 people, including former army officers and government officials, accused over last week's alleged coup plot.

In western Ivory Coast, UN peacekeepers have redeployed for the first time since violent anti-UN demonstrations in January.

An international furore that followed the disappearance of former Liberian President Charles Taylor from his home in exile in Nigeria was resolved after he was captured while trying to escape. Nigeria had invited Liberia to take Taylor, but had not detained him, and would not agree to Liberia's request to send Taylor directly to the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone. Instead, Nigeria repatriated Taylor to Liberia, where he was taken into UN custody. He has now been transferred to Sierra Leone, where he has been charged with war crimes. Now Sierra Leone has requested The Hague host Taylor's trial.
http://www.sc-sl.org/
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2003/060803.html#FeatureArticle

Mauritania has sold its first oil exports. One month after its Chinguetti offshore fields opened, 950,000 barrels have gone to Chinese oil company UNIPEC.

Nigeria's first census in 15 years ended late Monday night. Results are expected in early June.
http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=762

The Arab League agreed to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's request to pay for the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Darfur once current funding runs out in October. However, the AU has agreed in principle to turn over the operation to the UN from September, which Bashir opposes.
--------------------------------------------------
PRM Americas
--------------------------------------------------
Last week, Argentines living near the River Uruguay lifted their blockade of border crossings that were imposed to protest proposed construction of two paper mills in Uruguay. The conflict over the balance between environment and employment is on hold for now. Both governments and Botnia, the Finnish company involved in the project, have agreed to stop work on the project pending an independent environmental study and agreement between Argentina and Uruguay.

Jamaica has sworn in its first female Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller.

Mexican President Fox has hosted a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Harper and US President Bush. The talks were dominated by the issue of immigration, as well as economic issues including the long-running disagreement over US tariffs on Canadian lumber imports.

Russia has questioned the translation of Pentagon documents that indicate that Russia passed US military intelligence to Saddam Hussein prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. US Secretary of State Rice has asked Russia to investigate the allegations contained in the http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2006/ipp.pdf

Secretary Rice, in a major foreign police speech in the UK, admitted tactical errors, but said that the strategic decisions were correct. Large demonstrations accompanied her visit to northwest England.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/63969.htm
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/63980.htm

The US Congress is attempting to navigate contentious immigration reforms that have generated large and growing protests among legal and illegal immigrants, as well as their supporters and opponents. Among the issues under consideration are criminal penalties for illegal immigrants and their employees, establishing a guest worker program, increasing high-tech visas, offering some form of amnesty, increasing enforcement and penalties, upgrading security systems, and building border fences.
http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=63
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/3161
--------------------------------------------------
PRM Asia Pacific
--------------------------------------------------
Most of the foreign athletes missing from the Commonwealth Games have returned or been granted bridging visas. 19 remain missing. There have been similar disappearances at previous games.   

Hours after Australia's new industrial reform laws came into force, Minister for Workplace Relations Kevin Andrews was defending union accusations of abuse, citing the dismissal and rehiring of workers on lower wages and casual labor employment terms. The "WorkChoices" legislation eliminated unfair dismissal laws.
http://www.actu.asn.au/work_rights/news/1143603332_12116.html

Sydney Police Commissioner Ken Moroney plans to implement a mobile police unit to target gangs and street crime, following the shooting deaths of professional boxer Bassam Chami and his friend Ibrahim Assaad, characterized as a gang execution.

Indonesia's anger over Australia's grant of temporary visas to a group of Papuans is unabated. Australian Foreign Minister Downer said that Australia recognizes Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua, and values their cooperative efforts, but their immigration efforts are in line with Australian and international law and will not be bent to satisfy even an ally. Indonesia views the measure as support for separatists. The Islamic-leaning newspaper, Rakyat Merdeka (People's Freedom) published a cartoon in which Downer and Australian Prime Minister Howard were depicted as fornicating dingos wanting Papua.
http://www.rakyatmerdeka.co.id

Japan's opposition party leader, Seiji Maehara, will resign to take responsibility for a scandal over a false accusation that the son of a ruling party member was linked to a disgraced company.

Samoa's general elections have returned the ruling Human Rights Protection Party to power, in a performance that was better than expected.

Thailand voted today, three years earlier than planned, in an attempt by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to regain support and end growing criticism over his alleged corrupt activities. Results are being counted amid reports of violence and irregularities in the midst of an opposition boycott. The outcome and consequences are still uncertain.
--------------------------------------------------
PRM Europe
--------------------------------------------------
Belarus faces growing international protests and likely sanctions over recent elections that were found to be neither free nor fair, and the subsequent crackdown against opposition protesters. More than a thousand demonstrators and opposition leaders have been detained violently, most summarily tried and given no access to legal council or family. Several journalists and opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin are among those detained.

In France, labor protests that began as peaceful student demonstrations have grown increasingly violent over the past two weeks. Millions of workers took to the streets to protest labor reforms largely aimed at young workers. On what has become known as "Black Tuesday", a general strike turned into widespread riots. The deterioration did not sway Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin or the Constitutional Council, which has ruled the law is legal, paving the way for it to be signed and put into effect. Workers in Germany and the UK also took industrial action, but this remained peaceful.
http://www.spiegel.de/internatikonal/0,1518,408546,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/internatikonal/0,1518,408418,00.html

Georgian riot police ended a prisoner revolt in which seven inmates were killed. The circumstances are unclear.

Italy has granted asylum to Abdul Rahman, an Afghan who faced execution for converting from Islam to Christianity.

A Lithuanian court convicted Algimantas Dailide of persecuting and arresting two Poles and 12 Jews while he was a member of Nazi-backed security police in World War I, but the judge said that at 85 he presented no danger to society and was too old to serve in prison.

Poland's last communist leader, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, has been charged with actions connected to the imposition of martial law in 1981, to end the threat presented by the rising popularity of the Solidarity trade union.

Poland has asked UNESCO to change the official name of Auschwitz-Birkenau to "Former Nazi German Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau", to remind the world that the death camp was built and run by Nazi Germany.

Alexander Koptsev was found guilty in Russian court of attempting to murder Jewish worshippers during a knife rampage at a Moscow synagogue in January that injured eight people. He was jailed for 13 years in what is believed to be an anti-Semitic attack.

The Spanish parliament approved by 189-154 votes, a charter for greater independence for Catalonia. Under this plan, which provides more local control over finances and the judiciary, the same measures can be made available to other Spanish regions within the constitution. Catalonia will vote on a final autonomy plan in June.

Arnaldo Otegi, leader of the outlawed Basque party Batasuna, will be granted bail set at EU 250,000, pending his trial for instigating violence during a strike called earlier this month to protest the death of two Batasuna members in jail. Basque separatist group ETA declared a permanent ceasefire last week, and Otegi is likely to be a key negotiator in peace talks.

Ukraine's elections were praised as free and fair, but the democratic outcome gave the largest number of seats to the pro-Russian party of former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. His party garnered just under 30 percent of the vote, and is pursuing coalition talks. To ensure that the Orange Revolution is sustained, the pro-Western parties are also discussing a coalition. President Yuschenko's liberal Our Ukraine party was third with 15 percent of the vote compared to Yulia Timoshenko, the former Prime Minister with Yuschenko, and her party gained 22.4 percent.
http://www.osce.org/item/18498.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4852728.stm

The UK government reached a compromise agreement with the House of Lords regarding identity cards. It maintains the National Identity Register, a national identity database, but does not make getting a card mandatory until 2010.

The UK Law Lords unanimously dismissed an appeal by 20 anti-war activists who had been convicted of aggregated trespass when they attempted to prevent or delay military hardware leaving for Iraq, helping stopping the war. Their argument that the legality of the war should be considered was rejected when the court ruled that it had been a political decision.

Chinese gangmaster Lin Liang Ren was sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter in connection with allowing a group of illegal Chinese shellfish harvesters to drown in rising tides.

Britain's Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, said that low level offenses such as speeding will be dealt with through summary justice rather than the court system

In Northern Ireland, the Army has published a timetable for troop withdrawal and base closures
--------------------------------------------------
PRM Middle East
--------------------------------------------------
The Arab League's annual summit, originally scheduled for two days, was shortened to one, and many key leaders stayed away. They called for Arabs to assist Iraq and to support the Palestinian people.

Hamas leaders have won a vote of confidence in the Palestinian parliament and taken control of the government after being sworn in by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The new government says they look forward to peace talks with the international community, but they face serious diplomatic, security and economic problems, exacerbated by Israel's travel controls and refusal to release tax monies, and a US ban on official contact. Canada has become the first country to join an Israeli-led boycott of the Hamas government, freezing $7.3 million in Palestinian Authority funding.

The government includes: Prime Minister Ismail Haniya; Deputy PM and Education Minister Nasser al-Din al-Shair; Finance Minister Omar Abd al-Raziq; Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahhar; Interior Minister Said al-Siyam;  Justice Minister Ahmed al-Khalidi; Culture Minister Atallah Abu al-Sibah; Information Minister Youssef Rizqa; Health Minister Basim Naim; Religious Affairs Minister Nayif al-Rujub; Labor Minister Mohammed al-Barghouti; and Women's Affair Minister Mariam Salih.

Note this Amnesty International report on the condition of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon:
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/369-270306-news-eng

Iraq, warning the US not to interfere, has continued negotiations on forming a coalition government, which has still not formed three months after the elections.

Iraq's interior minister Bayan Jabr called a US raid on a mosque complex "an unjustified and flagrant attack". US denials of serious offenses did nothing to ease the growing political pressure generated by the event, in which at least 16 people were killed. The US announced an inquiry, but Iraq has insisted on a full, independent investigation that did not include US military representatives.

In Israel, a new party will lead a new coalition government to implement new centrist policies, following elections on Tuesday. Kadima, only formed a few months ago, will be largest party in Knesset, winning 29 seats. Other results: Labor 20, Shas 12, Yisrael Beiteinu 11, Likud 12, National Union-National Religious Party 9, Gil (pensioners) 7, United Torah Judaism 6, Meretz 5, Ra'am Ta'al 3, Hadash 3, and Balad 3. The members of this 17th Knesset will be sworn in on April 17. Negotiations to form a government are under way.
http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern+History/Historic+Events/Elections+in+Israel+

Lebanon's Justice Minister Charles Rizk says that the UN Security Council will approve an international tribunal to try those accused in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The tribunal would be similar to that established for Sierra Leone.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=23297
--------------------------------------------------
PRM South Asia
--------------------------------------------------
Abdul Rahman, an Afghan who faced possible execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, was freed last Monday when he was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. Parliament had insisted he remain in the country pending his mental examination, but instead he was taken to Italy, where he has been granted asylum. Note this article, "Christians in Afghanistan: A Community of Faith and Fear".
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,408781,00.html

Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, chief of staff of the armed forces, has offered to form a commando unit under him that is tasked to eliminate the Taleban and al Qaeda.

Bangladesh police used tear gas to disperse Awami League opposition party protesters campaigning for the resignation of the current government and for electoral reform. During the clashes at least 100 people were injured.

Bihar is the most lawless state in India, with a murder every two hours. Desperate to reduce violent crime, it has put together a financial incentive program to pay criminals to surrender weapons and turn themselves in. Criminals who surrender are given a monthly subsidy, but still face legal proceedings as appropriate.

Pakistan's air force, for the first time, has inducted four women as pilots.

Sri Lanka's local government elections gave President Mahinda Rajapakse's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) 225 of 266 seats, with turnout of 55 percent. Voting in Tamil-dominated areas was postponed, and there were sporadic incidents of violence.
http://www.slelections.gov.lk/

The Supreme Court has awarded President Rajapakse $5,000 damages. Opposition member of parliament Kabir Kasheem and two police officers will pay the bulk of this after a complaint that tsunami donations had been siphoned off into private accounts associated with Rajapakse was found a breach of his rights.


3. AML/CFT Monitor

The AML/CFT Monitor is a monthly 16-page print publication. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For subscription information, email info@tamni.com.

--------------------------------------------------
AML/CFT Incidents/Cases
--------------------------------------------------
US prosecutors in Detroit indited 19 individuals with operating a smuggling ring that financed Hezbollah with the profits generated from cigarette smuggling, counterfeit drugs, theft, and other illegal enterprises.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=23398

Brazilian authorities have opened an investigation into 18 banks with alleged links between illegal funding practices of political parties and organized crime. This week, police raided a private banking unit of Credit Suisse following a tip-off by a former employee. One of the directors was arrested on suspicion of money laundering, and several others are under investigation for possible illegal overseas transfers for Credit Suisse's Brazilian clients.
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=6576097&cKey=1143466534000

State prosecutors in Potsdam, Germany, announced that customs officials raided 41 companies across the country to uncover a nuclear procurement network in which materials were delivered to Iran in contravention of export laws.
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,408269,00.html
http://www.tagesschau.de/aktuell/meldungen/0,1185,OID5372658_REF1_NAV_BAB,00.html (in German)

Northern Ireland's Assets Recovery Agency alleges that Jonathan and Monica Sawyers were involved in fuel smuggling and has been granted an interim receiving order that freezes more than GBP 2.5 million, including a number of lands and properties believed obtained from the proceeds of fuel smuggling.

US prosecutors plan to request extradition of former Irish Workers party president Sean Garland to face charges of trafficking forged $100 bills from North Korea. He was arrested in Belfast on a US warrant last year.
http://www.seangarland.org
--------------------------------------------------
AML/CFT Legislation and Regulation
--------------------------------------------------
The US Treasury designated Kohas AG, a Swiss industrial supply wholesaler, and its president, Jakob Steiger, as WMD proliferators for alleged connections to Korean weapons development. Treasury also designated Commercial Bank of Syria and its subsidiary Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank as financial institutions of primary money laundering concern.
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js4144.htm
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2006/fil06028.html

The UN Security Council unanimously decided to extend to 29 September the Sudan arms embargo monitors' mandate. A briefing on the situation will be provided within 90 days.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8678.doc.htm

The Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called on Kyrgyzstan to make the fight against the interlinked problems of human trafficking and money laundering a top priority.
http://www.osce.org/item/18534.html
--------------------------------------------------
AML/CFT Modalities
--------------------------------------------------
Glenn Simpson explains, "A Russian man's investigation into events surrounding his father's death in 1997 is shedding light on a set of offshore trusts valued at more than $100 million, held in part by current and former senior executives of OAO Lukoil Holdings, Russia's largest oil company". He traces the investments from Russia to the Isle of Man and Ireland, then back. "Lukoil Official Leaves a Money Trail" was in the 28 March issue of The Wall Street Journal.

An unusual advance fee fraud is described in Jessica Garrison's article, "As Scams Go, This Is a Gem":
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-diamond29mar29,0,5629191.story

US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) criminal investigators Michael McDonald and Treasury's Jeffrey Ross, told an anti-money laundering conference that cash is still the preferred instrument for laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking - as much as $50 billion out of the US every year.


4. Emerging Threat Monitor

The Emerging Threat Monitor will be published in print later this year. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For more information, email info@tamni.com.

--------------------------------------------------
ETM Corruption and Transnational Crime
--------------------------------------------------
Former US lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been jailed for more than five years on conspiracy, and fraud charges related to casino-boat purchases. He has also admitted to a second case of tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy to bribe public officials. Abramoff is closely linked to senior Republicans and his light sentence is the result of his cooperation in an ongoing investigation of some 20 politicians.

The Abramoff case, other charges of corruption, and an all-time low in public confidence have led to calls for new ethics and lobbying standards. However, last week the Senate defeated a bipartisan proposal to create an independent office for investigating members of Congress, preferring to maintain current self-enforcement mechanisms.

US oil company Halliburton is harshly criticized in this report of their performance under the oil reconstruction contract:
http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1032

Brazil's financial markets are reacting negatively to an ongoing corruption scandal involving current and former government officials. A parliamentary investigation released on Wednesday cleared President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of criminal wrong-doing, but recommended criminal charges be placed against more than 100 people. The charges are connected to illegal cash payments from the ruling Workers Party to other coalition party members. A number of government ministers, members of parliament, and party executives have already been forced to step down.

In southern Spain, the mayor of Marbella, Marisol Yague, has been arrested in connection with a corruption case involving bribery, influence peddling, and embezzlement.

A German court plans to hear a case involving former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's decision to accept a position as head of the supervisory board of a gas pipeline consortium. He was involved in brokering the German-Russian agreement involving the consortium's undersea Baltic pipeline.

British Prime Minister Blair and opposition Conservative Party leader Cameron are involved in a controversy over secret loans made to their parties ahead of the last elections. This loophole in campaign financing regulations is embarrassing, but was made worse by the linkage between the loans, and those wealthy donors subsequently granted peerages.

Australia has introduced new legislation to put into effect a new corruption oversight organization, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI). Plans for this had been announced nearly two years ago.

The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held hearings on "Multilateral Development Banks: Promoting Effectiveness and Fighting Corruption"
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2006/hrg060328a.html
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Economies and Financial Systems
--------------------------------------------------
World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy opened the Trade Negotiations Committee meeting on 28 March with a reminder that a mid0April deadline for agricultural and industrial product modalities is near. He said, "the moment of truth is therefore fast approaching - we do not have time to waste.
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news06_e/tnc_dg_stat_28march06_e.htm

Ahead of these talks, Brazil, India and South Africa (IBSA) reached agreement on collaborating within the G20 group of developing nations to break down trade barriers and begin to set up a free trade area that will eventually take in each of the three continents they represent.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1471946.cms
http://www.buanews.gov.za/view.php?ID=06033111451001&coll=buanew06
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8GLIUVG3.htm

The University of Capetown's Unilever Institute released a landmark marketing study, "Black Diamond". The report finds that Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has not reached ordinary South Africans, but a huge consumer boom is being driven by the black middle class, which grew by 368 percent between 1998 and 2004.
http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/19/9306.html

Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's biggest companies leads with four from the US: Citigroup, General Electric, Bank of America, and American International Group. UK bank HSBC was the highest ranking non-US firm, picking up fifth place for the second consecutive year. Rankings are based on a composite of sales, profits, assets and market value.
http://www.forbes.com/home/lists/2006/03/29/06f2k_worlds-largest-public-companies_land.html
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Environment and Climate Change
--------------------------------------------------
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) warns that winter air temperatures over Antarctica have risen more than 2 degrees Celsius over the last 30 years, across the entire continent and much of the southern ocean. The region holds enough ice to raise sea levels by 60 meters, which could be catastrophic.
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/News_and_Information/Press_Releases/story.php?id=281
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/311/5768/1698
http://www.sciencemag.org/sciext/ice/

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has called for better forest management to help deal with climate change.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/focus/2006/1000247/index.html

The Risk and Insurance Management Society of Nigeria (RIMSON) called for insurance and risk managers around the world to address environmental depletion caused by construction firms, other businesses, governments and their agencies.
http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrTitle=Risk,%20Insurance%20managers%20outline%20causes%20of%20environmental%20depletion&qrDate=3/28/2006&qrColumn=BUSINESS

"Five Holes in the Ground" is a new BBC production that looks at deep drilling in the earth, beginning with scientists drilling into a volcano to see if supercritical steam could make Iceland a net energy exporter.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/fiveholesintheground.shtml
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Human Rights
--------------------------------------------------
The UN Human Rights Commission ended its last meeting on Monday after adopting a resolution to transfer its work to the new Human Rights Council, which will first meet on 19 June.
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/5A23A835EEF0F7F5C125713E00541659?opendocument

An Indian physician and his assistant have been sentenced to two years jail for determining that a fetus was female and agreeing to abort it. This is the first time medical professionals have been imprisoned in such a case.

Nepal's Supreme Court has asked the government to eliminate a law that allows men to divorce on grounds of infertility, and replace it with a new law that is not discriminatory between men and women.

A Japanese court has ruled unconstitutional a law that denies nationality to children of unmarried men and foreign women.

Inmates at the Westville prison in Durban, South Africa, have begun a mass hunger strike to force provision of free HIV treatment for all those infected. Although the South African government provides free HIV treatment, inmates have to pay for identity documents. In addition, not all prison hospitals are equipped to provide the treatment, and security issues are raised when using regular hospitals.
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Infectious Diseases
--------------------------------------------------
"Bird-Flu - Will It Ruffle The Industry's Feathers?" is a new report from Fitch Ratings. They find that life insurers and their reinsurers would be most likely to be the hardest hit by a bird flu pandemic, but do not envision widespread downgrades to either sector, unless the virus mutates to be more easily transmitted among humans or outbreaks are prolonged.
http://www.fitchratings.com/corporate/events/press_releases_detail.cfm?pr_id=229827
http://www.fitchratings.com/corporate/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=270122

Mercer Human Resource Consulting has released a global survey, "Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness". They found "a striking gap between companies' concern about the impact of a human pandemic and actual pandemic planning". This is reflected in the finding that while 70 percent of businesses surveyed believe a pandemic would damage profitability, only 47 percent have a business continuity plan in place and just 17 percent have budgeted for pandemic preparedness. Asia is best prepared, and the US the least. Similarly, telecommunications and pharmaceutical companies are likely to have a pandemic preparedness budget, but few retail companies have one.
http://www.mercerhr.com/knowledgecenter/reportsummary.jhtml/dynamic/idContent/1207955

US National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has identified a rapid method for detecting and identifying tiny numbers of diverse bacteria, work that could lead to the development of handheld devices for accelerated identification of biological weapons and antibiotic-resistant or virulent strains of bacteria -situations where speed is essential.
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/103/13/4841
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Social Responsibility
--------------------------------------------------
Turkey's largest industrial conglomerate, Koc Holding A.S., with more than 87,000 employees, has joined the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative to advance good corporate citizenship and responsible globalization, including promoting human rights and fighting corruption.
http://www.koc.com.tr
http://www.unglobalcompact.org
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Technology
--------------------------------------------------
InPhase Technologies reports that it has set a commercial data storage record of 515 gigabits (gb) of data per square inch, using a holographic drive.
http://www.inphase-technologies.com/news/500gigabit.html
--------------------------------------------------
ETM Weapons (WMD, Proliferation)
--------------------------------------------------
Islamic Jihad in Gaza for the first time fired a Katyusha-style rocket at Israel. The new rocket, favored by Lebanese Hezbollah, is bigger and has a longer range than the Qassam's usually used. Homemade Qassam rockets have caused minimal Israeli casualties despite hundreds of attacks, so use of this new weapon is a worrying development. Israel is investigating whether the new rockets were acquired from Iran.

The UN Security Council issued a statement calling on Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities in an effort to guarantee that its nuclear program is for exclusively peaceful purposes and thereby contribute to a diplomatic solution. The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report earlier this month said they had found no diversion of nuclear material to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, but was not in a position to conclude that there are none.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8679.doc.htm

The American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) estimates that insured losses from a large terrorist attack, such as a chemical, radioactive, or biological incident, could cost insurers $778 billion in losses. The estimated losses would exceed reserves for such losses by as much as 66 percent.
http://www.actuary.org
http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=7469

The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has released the "National Military Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction". It looks to US interests, partners and allies as keys to protection against this threat, guided by these six principles:
1- Active, Layered, Defense-in-Depth
2- Situational Awareness and Integrated Command and Control
3- Global Force Management
4- Capabilities-Based Planning
5- Effects-Based Approach
6- Assurance
http://www.defenselink.mil/pdf/NMS-CWMD2006.pdf

Interpol hosted a meeting in Singapore to discuss ways to improve bioterrorism defenses, focusing on the unique problems of prolonged exposure and delayed detection through workshop discussions and simulations shedding light on laboratory security, identification, assessment and response.
http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2006/PR200607.asp
http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/speeches/BioterrorismHoPengKee20050327.asp
http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/speeches/BioterrorismKhooBoonHui20050327.asp
http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/speeches/SGBioterrorism20050327.asp
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/3/27/apworld/20060327114143&sec=apworld
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=177174936&p=y77y7564z

A US appeals court ruling permitting Steven Hatfill to proceed with his libel case against the New York Times for allegedly defaming him in columns connecting him with the 2001 anthrax attacks was upheld by the Supreme Court.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/27/news/companies/anthrax.reut/


5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor

The Emerging Threat Monitor will be published in print later this year. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For more information, email .

--------------------------------------------------
CIM Agriculture and Food
--------------------------------------------------
The worldwide poultry industry has been badly hit by fears over avian influenza and its rapid spread. The World Health Organization (WHO) again has emphasized the importance of poultry products as sources of protein around the world. There is no risk of infection from birds that have been safely handled and properly cooked. The main health risk is to people in close contact with infected poultry, such as families with backyard flocks, or workers in live animal and wet markets. Several countries have undertaken promotional campaigns to encourage continued consumption of poultry products.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2006/s04/en/index.html

The International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development reports that Africa's farmland is severely degraded and becoming unable to sustain the population. Lack of fertilizer, deforestation, marginal lands, and poor agricultural practices contribute to this growing threat.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1143760212955
http://www.ifdc.org/
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Banking and Finance
--------------------------------------------------
Large electronic funds transfer (EFT) networks are investigating whether a merchant acquirer violated encryption rules and are considering a concerted response to a large PIN security breach, details of which remain unclear.
http://www.cardforum.com/article.html?id=20060324Y0NT8GFU&from=home&fmse=cl

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank have launched a the Joint External Debt Hub (JEDH). The new web site provides a one-stop source of comprehensive external debt statistics compiled from national and creditor/market sources.
http://www.jedh.org

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) published "The Regulation of General Insurance: One Year On". The new report finds customers feel the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulated sales process is too long and contains unnecessary information, deterring competitive shopping.
http://www.abi.org.uk/BookShop/ResearchReports/1%20year%20on%20v131.pdf

US financial regulators released "Evolution of a Prototype Financial Privacy Notice". The new report addresses measures to improve financial privacy notices.
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/ftcfinalreport060228.pdf
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Chemicals and Hazardous Materials
--------------------------------------------------
The US Government Accountability Office reports that:
"More than 3 billion tons of regulated hazardous materials (hazmat) - including explosive, poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and radioactive materials - are transported in the United States each year. When these materials are properly packaged, labeled, and stowed, they can be transported safely, but when they are not, they can pose significant threats to transportation workers, emergency responders, and the general public because of the potential for accidents and incidents. Moreover, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the security of such shipments, especially those that can be used as weapons of mass destruction, has attracted the attention of the transportation community, government officials, and emergency responders. In the wrong hands, hazardous materials could pose a significant security threat, and it is likely that terrorists who seek to use hazardous materials to harm Americans would move those materials as undeclared shipments".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-471 (PDF)
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Cybersecurity
--------------------------------------------------
Microsoft has issued an advisory regarding three Internet Explorer flaws, including two that would allow arbitrary code execution. Patches are scheduled for the 11 April security update. A "temporary patch" has been issued by eEye Digital Security.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/917077.mspx
http://www.eeye.com/html/research/alerts/AL20060324.html

Florida sate employees were warned their personal information may have been compromised through a foreign subcontractor of Convergys Corp, which handles the outsourced payroll and human services functions of the Department of Management Services.
http://dms.myflorida.com/dms/administration/communications/people_first_security_update_notification
http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,109938,00.html?source=NLT_AM&nid=109938

California's new statewide voter database has fallen foul of the same data quality issues that plague government exclusion lists and other massive databases. In this case, valid voter registrations of thousands of voters are being rejected, creating numerous challenges for a special election due in April.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rejected29mar29,0,5875281.story

The Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), with Privacy and American Business (PandAB), has launched an initiative to help small businesses improve security and privacy of customer data.
http://www.bbb.org/securityandprivacy/

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has proposed changes to the Digital Signature Standard (DSS). The draft is open for comment until 12 June:
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts.html
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Energy
--------------------------------------------------
Mauritania has sold its first oil exports. One month after its Chinguetti offshore fields opened, 950,000 barrels have gone to Chinese oil company UNIPEC.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) new report, "Onshore Wind: Powering Ahead" finds that by 2010, the onshore wind industry will generate 50 percent more electricity than previously predicted. BWEA anticipates having installed 6,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity, generating almost 5 percent of UK electricity supply, avoiding up to 13 million tons of CO2 emissions and delivering nearly half of the Government's 2010 renewable energy target.
http://www.bwea.com/media/news/060327.html

Norway has approved increased oil exploration in its Arctic waters but will limit drilling in some areas to protect the environment.
http://odin.dep.no/oed/english/news/press_releases/0/dok-bn.html
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
--------------------------------------------------
At a conference last weekend, International Atomic Agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei gave a speech entitled "Putting Teeth in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Regime". He reiterated the need to mitigate the risks of nuclear proliferation and of terrorists obtaining such weapons. He laid out his 5-point action plan for tightening controls, protecting materials, supporting verification, reinvigorating disarmament and strengthening the Security Council. He concluded, "The irony is that we know the problems, and we know the solutions.... What is yet to come is the vision and leadership to overcome the hubris that threatens our mutual destruction, and to build a civilization rooted in the unity of the human family, the sanctity of all human life and the core values we all share - a civilization that is humane and just."
IAEA)" target="_blank">http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Statements/2006/ebsp2006n004.html">IAEA)

That this is a real threat was graphically illustrated by a US Government Accountability Office (GAO) undercover investigation that allowed enough radioactive material to be smuggled into the US last year to make two radiological dirty bombs. Furthermore, measures to mitigate this threat are not in place and unlikely to be even within the next several years.
" Corruption, Maintenance, and Coordination Problems Challenge U.S. Efforts to Provide Radiation Detection Equipment to Other Countries. "
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-311
"DHS Has Made Progress Deploying Radiation Detection Equipment at U.S. Ports-of-Entry, but Concerns Remain"
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-389
"Investigators Successfully Transported Radioactive Sources Across Our Nation's Borders at Selected Locations."
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-545R

In a similar vein, a report from the Council on Foreign Relations warns that even though the threat of nuclear terrorism has never been higher, the US government has failed to make it a priority. "Preventing Catastrophic Nuclear Terrorism" goes on to describe ways to reduce this threat.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/10266/probability_of_a_nuclear_attack_by_terrorists_has_increased_warns_council_report.html
http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/Final 3_15_06.pdf

The UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Scottish Ministers have approved the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's (NDA's) Strategy. It sets out for the first time how the UK will clean up its historic nuclear facilities, at an estimated cost that has risen from GBP 56 billion to more than GBP 70 billion.
http://www.nda.gov.uk/Our_Business--Strategy_(782).aspx?pg=782
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Postal and Shipping
--------------------------------------------------
The US  Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that Los Angeles based J.H. World Express, Inc. does not meet security standards and will have its indirect air carrier certification revoked for shipments on passenger aircraft.  
http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=44&content=09000519801bbc3b
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Public Health and Healthcare
--------------------------------------------------
"Best Health Buys" is a set of three books that outline the current and future state of global health. It's a devastating portrait of more than a billion deaths from tobacco-related illnesses and preventable diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, and cardiovascular disease. The epidemiologists, health economists, public health practitioners, and other experts from the Fogarty International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization also identified the most crucial, proven, and cost-effective measures for attacking these health crises. Best health buys range from childhood vaccination to promoting aspirin and other inexpensive drugs for heart and stroke prevention and treatment.
http://www.dcp2.org/

A new report published in The Lancet documents declining prevalence of HIV infections in South India, prompting new examination of the infection trend and asking "Has global HIV incidence peaked?"
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/060330-2166.asp
http://www.thelancet.com/

China will ban the sale of human organs from July. Proposed health ministry regulations would require written permission from donors and that transplants are done only in specialist hospitals.
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Telecommunications
--------------------------------------------------
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) registered a new code, " Internet Industry Spam Code Of Practice - A Code For Internet And Email Service Providers". The first such legislative action in the world, it lays out technical, legislative, and other measures to combat spam. Companies failing to comply could face massive fines.
http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.65640:STANDARD:1015909710:pc=PC_100488
http://www.acma.gov.au//acmainterwr/telcomm/industry_codes/codes/iia spam code dec 2005.pdf

Canada's Telecommunications Policy Review Panel issued its report, which recommends fundamental changes to telecommunications laws to take into account the internet and technology convergence.
http://www.telecomreview.ca/epic/internet/intprp-gecrt.nsf/en/Home
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1143413409615
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Transportation
--------------------------------------------------
EUROCONTROL has issued a new forecast that projects significant increases in the number of flights across Europe and changes in the pattern of flight that will have varying impacts on airports and air traffic management.
http://www.eurocontrol.int/statfor/public/standard_page/forecast_reports.html

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) issued new cabin certification requirements to improve passenger safety during evacuation
http://www.faa.gov/news/news_story.cfm?contentKey=4008

Traditional models used to set safety standards for ships and oil installations may need to be overhauled following recent findings by a team from Britain's National Oceanography Center that recorded the highest waves ever measured, in numbers indicating they could be much more common than previously believed.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,408953,00.html

Honduras' Port of Cortes has become the first Central American port to join the US Container Security Initiative.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/press_releases/03252006.xml

The US House Subcommittee on Highways, Transit, and Pipelines, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, held a hearing on "Transit and Over the Road Bus Security" to review priorities and funding requirements for public transportation systems that have been primary terrorist targets.
http://www.house.gov/transportation/
--------------------------------------------------
CIM Water
--------------------------------------------------
The African Development Bank (ADB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UN Habitat under which the bank will finance safe water and sanitation for urban and peri-urban areas over the next five years.
http://www.unhabitat.org/habitat_and_adb_2006.asp

The town of Blackstone in the US state of Massachusetts reports that three 15-year-olds broke into a water storage facility, and damaged an electrical panel and vent on top of the water tank. Although not related to terrorism, the incident underscored the vulnerability of the water supplies to such attacks.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/03/30/breach_at_water_tank_is_reminder_of_vulnerabilities_in_security/

HABITAT reports that with urban populations in Asia, Africa and Latin America slated to double to nearly 4 billion, efforts must be stepped up to meet the far-reaching challenges this trend poses to providing safe water and sanitation.
http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/water/waterReport2006.asp


6. Disaster Reduction Monitor

The Disaster Reduction Monitor will be published in print later this year. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. For more information, email info@tamni.com

--------------------------------------------------
DRM Incidents
--------------------------------------------------
Earthquakes in western Iran have killed at least 70 people and injured 980. More than 300 villages were damaged or flattened in quakes up to 6.0 magnitude.

Overcrowding is one of the factors blamed in the capsizing of a Bahrain passenger boat in which at least 57 people were killed. Most of the passengers were foreigners on a celebration cruise.

A fire in a boarding school primary killed at lest 13 young children in Fort Portal, a town in western Uganda. Having no electricity at the time, the children were using candles at night.

On 25 March, a broken pipeline caused a massive gas leak in China's southwest Chongqing municipality. The leak triggered a huge explosion forcing the evacuation of 11,500 people. The Gaoqiao river also has been affected. Emergency measures are underway to control the incident, but the leak has not yet been sealed.

Last week's devastating cyclone in Australia is now reported to have caused insured losses of at least A$250 million (US $177 million), with about 12,500 claims received. That figure is expected to rise.
http://www.idro.com.au/media/default.asp
--------------------------------------------------
DRM Response and Recovery
--------------------------------------------------
The World Tourism Organization cites Mexico's recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Wilma as a blueprint for other tourism regions, citing the importance of private/public sector cooperation.
http://www.world-tourism.org/newsroom/Releases/2006/march/mexicoexample.htm

Libya, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia will donate two ferries each to Egypt primarily for the use of pilgrims and expatriates traveling in the Red Sea. The new ferries have higher capacity and speed and will be safer. The offer follows the January tragedy in which an Egyptian ferry sank, leaving more than a thousand people dead.

Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service and the local Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Task Force, are hosting the second in a series of evaluation exercises conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for urban search and rescue robots. NIST researchers expect to use data collected at the event to help develop performance standards and usage guides, including advice on which robots are best suited for specific emergency situations.
http://www.isd.mel.nist.gov/US&R_Robot_Standards/disaster_city/index.htm
http://www.teex.com/teex.cfm?pageid=USARprog&area=USAR&templateid=1538

The Scottish parliament will reopen in mid-May following a report that the roof, which had suffered a broken beam, is stable and safe to access.

The US Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a request for information that solicits private sector comment on supporting delivery of the SBA's Disaster Assistance program. Through mid-March, SBA had provided more than $6 billion in government-backed loans to homeowners, renters and businesses affected by the Gulf Coast hurricanes last year.
http://www.sba.gov/news/06-18-rfi-sba.pdf
http://www.sba.gov/news/06-17-disaster-loans-$6-billion.pdf
--------------------------------------------------
DRM Risks
--------------------------------------------------
Following record catastrophes last year, Allstate Insurance Company is discontinuing residential and commercial coverage in most of the US, including low-risk areas, and plans to eliminate some of the policies currently in force.
http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/03/27/story1.html?i=33253

There is concern that some unscrupulous firms could manipulate catastrophe models to help maintain their credit ratings.
http://cms.nationalunderwriter.com/cms/NUPC/Weekly%20Issues/Issues/2006/11/News/P11CATGAMES--ss
--------------------------------------------------
DRM Mitigation
--------------------------------------------------
Benfield Research's quarterly report on Bermuda finds that reinsurers were hard-hit by the 2005 hurricane season, but capital replenishment has outpaced losses.
http://www.benfieldgroup.com/media+centre/press+releases/benfield+research+shows+bermuda+reinsurers+hit+hard+by+2005+hurricanes+but+capital+replenished+swift.htm
http://www.benfieldgroup.com/media+centre/research+and+publications/bbqshakenandstirred.pdf

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is studying whether Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can be used as a low cost, reliable means to track firefighters and other first responders inside buildings and help them navigate under hazardous conditions.
http://www.antd.nist.gov/wctg/RFID/RFIDassist.htm.


7. Recommended Reading

After the excitement and hope so strongly felt during Ukraine's Orange Revolution, the realities of government and the limited progress made politically and economically have dampened enthusiasm, as evidenced in the mixed election results last week. Nonetheless, these books are a welcome reminder of how far the country has come, in such a short time.

* Anders Aslund and Michael McFaul, editors, "Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough" (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/events/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail&id=858&&prog=zru
http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/2006-57-36.cfm

* Askold Krushelnycky, "An Orange Revolution: A Personal Journey Through Ukrainian History" (Harvill Secker - April 25 release)
http://www.orangerevolution.us/blog/_archives/2006/3/7/1804166.html
http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-ukraine/Krushelnycky_3389.jsp

* Andrew Wilson, "Ukraine's Orange Revolution" (Yale University Press, Harvill Secker)
http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=0300112904 http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/2005/420/index.html?id=pp9.htm


8. Asset Management Network News

We are now offering a document delivery service for our readers. This is particularly helpful to those of you who have email but not web access. If you see an item of interest and would like the source material, send the details of your inquiry to info@tamni.com . Single source citations are sent to subscribers by reply email with our compliments. For more complex inquiries, items printed and mailed or faxed, or items involving licensed materials, a fee will be charged to cover our costs of providing the items requested.

In addition to these free news updates, we offer premium analytical services to our subscribers. People who purchase subscriptions to AML/CFT Monitor, Critical Infrastructure Monitor, Disaster Reduction Monitor, Emerging Threat Monitor, Global Terrorism Monitor, or Political Risk Monitor receive monthly publications and are entitled to get our Special Reports at no additional cost.

Email info@tamni.com for details about the new products, publications, and information about services, including custom research.